12/15/09: Michael Berthelot and Jim Caruso of Media First PR
Michael Berthelot and Jim Caruso tell small business owners what they can do to prepare for 2010.
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12/8/09: Brandon Sheats Talks WordCamp Atlanta, TurnHere’s John McWeeny Discusses Video For Small Biz, and Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk Talks About Marketing for Professional Services Firms
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12/1/09: Jennifer Bonnett Talks About Entrepreneurship and Startup Chicks
Jennifer Bonnett has been in technology for 22 years and in the startup community for about ten years. But, when she looked around, she noticed there weren’t many other women showing up to some of the startup events here in Atlanta. She began Startup Chicks after Startup Weekend last year because out of about 120 people who participated in Startup Weekend, there were only six women. What began as a way to get some entrepreneurial women together for drinks once a month has flourished into a community of like-minded women who support and encourage each other in their ventures. Jennifer believes that women feel more comfortable in a group like this and ultimately it gives them the confidence to pitch their ideas into larger audiences.
Jennifer is also part of a new startup called XpenseTrack which was launched over this most recent Startup Weekend here in Atlanta.
To find out more about Startup Chicks check out their website at http://startupchicks.net or follow Jennifer on Twitter.
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11/24/09: Bert Dumars of Rubbermaid and Chuck Blakeman Talk About What Little Brands Can Learn from Big Brands (and vice versa!)
What works for big businesses isn’t always something that could work for a small business (and vice versa) yet there are a lot of commonalities between the two. We talked to Bert Dumars, VP of E-Business and Integrative Marketing about the strategies some of the brands of Newell Rubbermaid have executed to grow their business. He maintains that an integrated approach to marketing whether you are a big brand or small brand is always best. Don’t just put all of your eggs into one basket such as social media, for example. It should be part of an overall strategy that may include print and/or television ads if applicable. And, make sure you know who you need to reach. If you’re in a B2B space, your target audience may only be a very small number. A lot of the brands of Newell Rubbermaid aren’t all that big so they employ marketing strategies that would work well for entrepreneurs and small businesses. The most important thing is to be tenacious, persistent, and think of ways to work effectively within whatever budget you have.
Next up we had Chuck Blakeman from Denver, Colorado author of Making Money is Killing Your Business. Chuck thinks small business need to learn strategic planning and long-range marketing planning from big business and not cling the “random hope” philosophy of doing business. He also thinks that marketing processes are important for small business. Big businesses do this well but small business owners get bored and don’t stick to the “recency and frequency” formula. You need to see your customers recently and on a consistent basis. Most small businesses are so focused on the passion of what they do that they can’t build a good business. They are so focused on their craft that it gets in the way making money.
It was great to talk to both Bert and Chuck. If you are a small business owner, definitely check out this show!
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